Viewing Figures

[Andyjb]

It seems to me that so few people use this site (the galleries in particular) is because it is just so poorly designed. Hardly anyone rates pictures so why not scrap rating and just leave comments and a "like" button which members can tick if they like a picture and don't want to comment. When viewing your own pictures to see what response they got it shouldn't be that difficult to have a figure showing how many "likes" a picture notched up as well as how many viewings.
My feeling is that the site does not encourage people to participate in the galleries because it does not meet their requirements. I suspect that most people do not want critique and rating of their pictures they just want to show others what they are doing and to see what others are doing.

[Stormsong]

Originally Posted by donoreo

Understanding the possible position Marcus may be in, he may not be allowed to say anything. Sometimes those above that are out of touch with users force those that are look bad.

HE is the EDITOR of this site, he is in charge - at least about what is posted and written about on this site!! Yes, my understanding of editors is that you have bean-counters to answer to, but in that position, you make the calls about what is published and what is not. It is just a (continuing) lack of communication between 'us' and 'them'. I haven't seen or heard any of the PR staff on here for weeks.

As for the OP - if you want anyone to take notice of your photos, best place them in the critique section or the forum threads. This site is pathetic as far as galleries goes, hence why there aren't too many of my images up either.

Regards,
Denise

(PS: In my day, as editor of a weekly consumer newspaper (not in the UK), I was responsible for choosing what was published and what was not. It was a free newspaper, so relied heavily on advertising, but in no way did the advertisers nor the top management of the newspaper dictate what appeared in it. Perhaps the definiiton of an editor has changed).

[donoreo]

Originally Posted by Stormsong

HE is the EDITOR of this site, he is in charge - at least about what is posted and written about on this site!! Yes, my understanding of editors is that you have bean-counters to answer to, but in that position, you make the calls about what is published and what is not. It is just a (continuing) lack of communication between 'us' and 'them'. I haven't seen or heard any of the PR staff on here for weeks.

It depends on how empowered he is. They have people in charge of groups of publications that Marcus and Geoff (DCM) and and Chris (P+) report to. I do not have a magazine with me, but some of this is listed on the details page where the editors and contributors, etc are listed. Given that Future has so many publications they have a bureaucracy before things get to the top with CEO Stevie Spring.

I would expect changes soon, changes cost money. Looking at Future's half year we see this:

Results: H1 11 H1 10
Revenue £68.8m £71.4m
EBITA * £2.4m £4.4m
EBITA margin 3.5% 6.2%
Operating profit £1.8m £3.0m
Reported Pre-tax profit £1.2m £2.2m
Earnings per share (p) 0.2p 0.4p
Adj ** earnings/share (p) 0.4p 0.7p
Dividends (p/share) 0.5p 0.5p

* EBITA represents operating profit before amortisation of intangible assets.
** Adjusted earnings per share are based on statutory results, but exclude amortisation of intangibles and related tax effects.

So, revenue is down, profits are down.

[pburness]

Originally Posted by donoreo

It depends on how empowered he is. They have people in charge of groups of publications that Marcus and Geoff (DCM) and and Chris (P+) report to. I do not have a magazine with me, but some of this is listed on the details page where the editors and contributors, etc are listed. Given that Future has so many publications they have a bureaucracy before things get to the top with CEO Stevie Spring.

I would expect changes soon, changes cost money. Looking at Future's half year we see this:

Results: H1 11 H1 10
Revenue £68.8m £71.4m
EBITA * £2.4m £4.4m
EBITA margin 3.5% 6.2%
Operating profit £1.8m £3.0m
Reported Pre-tax profit £1.2m £2.2m
Earnings per share (p) 0.2p 0.4p
Adj ** earnings/share (p) 0.4p 0.7p
Dividends (p/share) 0.5p 0.5p

* EBITA represents operating profit before amortisation of intangible assets.
** Adjusted earnings per share are based on statutory results, but exclude amortisation of intangibles and related tax effects.

So, revenue is down, profits are down.

Could also be part of the reason they are requesting £10 for the POTY (and why many haven't contributed here recently - maybe they've gone....)

One thing for sure, the magazine needs to keep improving along with it's website - readers are not very loyal for long and always want the best....

Phil

[MattUK]

I suspect Marcus & others are missing a trick here.

The website is obviously a revenue stream - there's PPC advertising on it, and the Magazine attempts to bridge the gap somewhat between offline and online interaction. However the active user base of the website is tiny, and I presume their PPC advertising revenue doesn't produce much.

It's pretty obvious that digital is fast becoming the norm. Paper magazines are fast going to become obsolete (or at least shadows of their former selves), in the same way that direct marketing is being made obsolete by digital marketing and eCRM. Look at the newspapers, with the vast majority of major papers embracing digital subscription models.

A proper injection of effort (and budget) into this website could reap a big ROI, including things such as:

* Proper online subscription model to supplement or replace the offline model, giving exclusive content to subscribing members
* Much harder working online advertising as a result of increased online traffic
* Best in class online activity and content, leading the way for sister magazines
* Multi-channel digital offerings (iPad / iPhone / tablet / mobile access)
Etc.

Building on the current user base by offering market leading gallery / review / rating facilities through the website is an obvious step forward...

Oh and by the way, I work for a top ten digital agency, so happy to discuss with the powers that be!

[Jediboy]

I used to use the old site on a fairly regular basis and have only recently started to come in here again. Part of the reason for this is I don't think it's got such active forums as the old site - it seems quieter. And partly because I've only been able to access the site on my iPhone as my PC has been playing up. Now I've got a new laptop I hope to get some photos on here.

[Lepach]

What does bump mean?

[pburness]

Originally Posted by Lepach

What does bump mean?

It just resets the message to the latest in the unread queue and (if people have email notification set) sends an e-mail to let them know the thread is still active - so it's a reminder basically.

Phil

[pburness]

Originally Posted by pburness

Could also be part of the reason they are requesting £10 for the POTY (and why many haven't contributed here recently - maybe they've gone....)

One thing for sure, the magazine needs to keep improving along with it's website - readers are not very loyal for long and always want the best....

Phil

Just another thought - the more users they have, the bigger the benefit to the advertisers, and hence the better the revenue stream - so in the long run it pays for them to take note of the users and act on what we say, because there is nothing that turns people away more than a website that is difficult to use...

Phil

[Jediboy]

I think you may have a point there Phil.